Domain Goldrush Part 7 - WLS Gets ICANN Approval

Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers

After a long delay, ICANN recently approved the introduction of VeriSign's "Wait Listing Service" (WLS). For those of you not familiar with WLS, it is a registry-level first-come first-served subscription service for the automatic registration of deleted domain names. It is largely based on SnapName's successful SnapBack(TM) backordering system, and indeed, VeriSign has partnered with SnapNames in designing and producing the WLS system.

Once WLS launches, any deleting .com or .net domain name (.org names will not be included) that has a WLS order on it will no longer be "fought over" by ICANN registrars and the various name grabbing services. Instead, it will automatically be allocated to the WLS position holder for that name. In other words, the days of name-grabbing by registrars will be over for some names, replaced by a first-come first-served back ordering system. Names will only ever drop if they don't have a subscriber attached to them.

So when is this new system going to happen? There is no clear answer to that question yet. As one of the conditions of approving the system, ICANN specified that:

Subscriptions under the WLS in the .com and .net top-level domains shall not be taken by VeriSign Global Registry Services until at least six months have elapsed after implementation of the Redemption Grace Period for all deleted names in those top-level domains.

Since the "Redemption Grace Period" has not yet been implemented, it seems that we are still many months away from the launch of WLS.

Other conditions attached by ICANN are also of interest. In particular:

No preference in connection with, or exclusion from, WLS shall be given because of any registrar-level reservation service.

This means that SnapBack subscriptions will not automatically be converted by the Registry into WLS subscriptions on the same name . However, SnapNames and its registrar partners intend to convert SnapBacks to WLS orders. In other words, your SnapBack subscriptions will not become obsolete once WLS is launched. The minimum guarantee SnapNames has given is that they will convert each and every SnapBack order into a WLS subscription without charge. They will try for the name you had the SnapBack on, and if that isn't available, you will be able to select a different name - just like today's exchange guarantee.

It should be noted that WLS has only been approved on a 12-month trial basis. However, given the changes required by the registry, registrars, and the consumer in converting to WLS, and the momentum the system will inevitably build, it doesn't take a genius to work out that WLS is likely to be with us for a long time to come.

Whilst many domain speculators, who have based their business models on the infinite intricacies of name grabbing during domain drops , are up in arms about WLS, most consumers will find it a more straightforward, fair and accessible system. They will know that in the future, if they subscribe to a particular domain name and the previous owner does not renew, they will get the name. It doesn't come much fairer than that.

As someone who has spent countless hours trying to explain to bewildered customers how the current domain drop system works, I, for one, look forward to this new more consumer-friendly system.

Bring on the brave new expiring domains world!

Domain Names Security : How safe is yours?
The security of domain name registrations is an increasing concern for domain name registrants and registrars. However, there are steps you can take to increase the security of your domain name registrations...
Domain Goldrush Part 3 - Wild Wild West
The expiring domains goldrush, previously described in Part 1 of this series, is over - at least as far as the average domain speculator is concerned. As recently as six months ago anyone with a PC, a browser, and a good idea of when a hot domain name was going to expire, had a good chance of grabbi...
Domain Goldrush Part 4 - Expiring Domains Industry on Hold
On the 10th August 2001, Verisign Inc., the company responsible for running the .com shared registry system, dropped a massive bomb-shell. They announced the immediate suspension of the batch release of deleted domain names. In one swift action, they put the entire expiring domains industry on h.....
Domain Goldrush Part 5 - Mother of All Drops
As fast as Verisign Inc., the corporation that controls the .com shared registry, put the brakes on the expiring domains industry, it has taken them off again. They have announced a short-term technical solution which will allow for the immediate resumption of batch domain releases. From the 30th Au...
Domain Goldrush Part 6 - Snap-Back To The Future?
Verisign Inc. have announced the details of a new system that will completely change the way deleting domain names are re-registered. Although the proposal has still to be commented on by the Registrar Constituency, chances are that by March 20th, well all use this new system if we want to reg...
Domain Goldrush Part 1 - 6.30 AM Domain Goldrush
If youve tried to register a dot com domain name between 6.30 and 7.00 am (EST) recently, chances are you wont have been able to. Whats going on? Is it because domain registration companies are too lazy to boot up the registration systems in the morning? No, its something a lot more interest...
Why do we Need Privacy Protection when we Buy Domain Names?
Also known as Private Registration This is a term involved with domain name registration. And it literally means you domain name registration details are kept private or in other words your personal details such as your name, home/ office address, email address and phone numbers are not display......
Understanding the Domain Name System
Ever wonder why DNS systems came into existence? Efficiency. Every computer has a distinct IP address, and the Internet needed an elite method for obtaining these addresses and for managing the system as a whole. Enter ICANN.
The 'Website' CHECKLIST : Domains, Hosting, Web Design
This article is meant to all who already have a website or who propose to buy it. Website - the term comprises three things : Domain, Hosting (Web space) & Web Design There are ...
Domain Reselling - what is it?
The field of domain name reselling has grown as the Internet has expanded to include numerous personal websites...